QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. President. When you talked today about the violence in Baghdad, first you mentioned extremists, radicals and then al Qaeda. It seems that al Qaeda and foreign fighters are much less of a problem there and that it really is Iraqis versus Iraqis. And when we heard about your meeting the other day with experts and so forth, some of the reporting out of that said you were frustrated, you were surprised, and your spokesman said, "Nope, you're determined."

But frustration seems like a very real emotion. Why wouldn't you be frustrated, sir, by what's happening?

BUSH: I'm not -- I do remember the meeting; I don't remember being "surprised." I'm not sure what they meant by that.

QUESTION: About the lack of gratitude among the Iraqi people.

BUSH: Oh. No, I think -- yeah -- first of all, to the first part of your question, you know, if you look back at the words of Zarqawi before he was brought to justice, he made it clear that the intent of their tactics in Iraq was to create civil strife. In other words, if you -- look at what he said. He said let's kill Shi'a to get Shi'a to seek revenge and therefore to create this kind of hopefully cycle of violence. Secondly, I think it's pretty clear that the -- at least the evidence indicates that the bombing of the shrine was an al Qaeda plot, all intending to create sectarian violence.

Now, al Qaeda is still very active in Iraq. As a matter of fact, some of the more -- I would guess, I would surmise that some of the more spectacular bombings are done by al Qaeda suiciders. No question there's sectarian violence as well. And the challenge is to provide a security plan such that a political process can go forward. And you know, I know -- I'm sure you all are tired of hearing me say 12 million Iraqis voted, but it's an indication about the desire for people to live in a free society. That's what that means, see. And the only way to defeat this ideology in the long term is to defeat it through another ideology, a competing ideology, one that -- where government, you know, responds to the will of the people. And that's really the fundamental question we face here in the beginning of this 21st century is whether or not we believe as a nation and others believe it is possible to defeat this ideology.

Now, I recognize some say that these folks are not ideologically -- but I strongly disagree. I think not only do they have an ideology, they have tactics necessary to spread their ideology. And it would be a huge mistake for the United States to leave the region, to concede territory to the terrorists, to not confront them.

And -- and the best way to confront them is to help those who want to leave in free society. Look, eventually Iraq will succeed because the Iraqis will see to it that they succeed. And our job is to help them succeed. That's our job. Our job is to help their forces be better equipped, to help their police be able to deal with these extremists, and to help their government succeed.

QUESTION: But are you frustrated, sir?

BUSH: Frustrated? Sometimes I'm frustrated, rarely surprised. Sometimes I'm happy. You know, this is -- this is a -- it's -- but war's not a time of joy. These aren't joyous times. These are challenging times. And they're difficult times. And they're straining the -- the psyche of our country. I understand that. You know, nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see the havoc wrought by terrorists. And our question is, do we have the -- the capacity and the desire to spread peace by confronting these terrorists and supporting those who want to live in liberty? That's -- that's -- that's the question.

And my answer to that question is, we must. We owe it to future generations to do so....

"BUSH: Oh. No, I think -- yeah -- first of all, to the first part of your question, you know, if you look back at the words of Zarqawi before he was brought to justice, he made it clear that the intent of their tactics in Iraq was to create civil strife."

"Military Plays Up Role of ZarqawiJordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability

The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks....

"Now, I recognize some say that these folks are not ideologically -- but I strongly disagree."

Just another example of Bush's brilliance there. "Some say" doncha know, "these folks are not ideologically." Well, by God, George W. Bush is here to tell all you motherfuckers that he strongly disagrees with that. And if don't like it, then he'll see you out behind the White House at 3 o'clock, you little pansy.

he must continue to frame Iraq as a War On Terror. As long as the American people are in the fear mode the Busholini Regime can control the American masses. It is becoming slowly obvious that Illegal Invasion of Iraq was perpetuated by the US Govt. by blatant lies. There is no War On Terror but an Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan with the pupose of controling natural resources such as oil and natural gas. The "spreading freedom" repetiton has become a pathetic farce.

Or . . . wait. Does Bush strongly disagree with some unnamed persons that these "folks" ARE ideologically or does he strongly disagree with some other unnamed persons that these folks are NOT ideologically? Damn, it gets confusing. I guess George oughta threaten to kick everybody's ass, just to be on the safe side.

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